Why the Church is True

How many times while attending one class or another during our Sunday meeting schedule have we heard a comment made that was similar to the following? Perhaps on occasion, we have uttered much the same thought ourselves. We know that the restored gospel is true and upon the earth in its fulness, and we have a testimony of its truthfulness. However, while the restored Church of Jesus Christ is true in its organizational structure and in its heavenly guidance, all that takes place in the church is not always as it should be, because it is peopled with imperfect members. Said differently, while the gospel and the Church are both true, at times that which is done in the name of the Church falls short of the ideal given the foibles of human beings.

While reading a compilation of Brother Hugh Nibley’s works in a volume entitled, Temple and Cosmos, I came across the Foreword he wrote for Brother Eugene England’s book, Why the Church is as True As the Gospel. How could Brother Nibley’s opening sentence not have caught my attention: “At last a Latter-day Saint book that really says something!” (Nibley, 555). And he continues: “The Church, we have been told, has at times been ‘under condemnation.’ But how could the gospel be under condemnation? Unthinkable--they are not the same thing at all, right? Wrong, and England will show you just how wrong and misleading that assumption can be. The gospel and the Church: we call one the plan and the other the work. The plan looks to the eternities and must necessarily be perfect; but the work is right here and is anything but the finished product. Yet the two are inseparable! ‘To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ is the plan; to carry it out, ‘this is my work and my glory’--the glory is in the work. We are permitted to take part in the work. . . .” (Nibley, 555).

I have read Brother England’s book and find his insights important for a more full understanding of the human dynamics encountered by participating members in the Church. Drawing upon many years of church service including callings as a priesthood leader on several occasions, Brother England shares his insight into the strengths of the Church that demonstrate its truthfulness by providing its members the necessary opportunities to “serve God” while serving their fellowmen. A thoughtful reading of this book will provide almost anyone additional understanding of the complexities and at times the frustrations attendant in church service.